Asthma Attack
by Secret Murderer
Summary: For musiclistner4ever's "Asthma challenge". Brick has an asthma attack in the middle of the woods. What will Blossom do? Rated for safety.


Hey everyone! This is my response to musiclistner4ever's "**Asthma challenge!**"

I hope you like it! :)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own the Power Puff Girls

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**Asthma Attack**

BOOOM!!!!

The explosion threw her back a couple of yards. She landed on the ground, barley keeping her balance. She shook her head and growled in pain. As she opened her eyes, she saw him charging for her at top speed, with his fist ready to connect to her body.

She gasped and barely managed to evade his attack, but he quickly spun around and kicked her in the abdomen, once again sending her flying through the air. This time she hit the wall of a tall office building, but she regained her focus much faster than last time. Before he had the chance to reach her again she used her ice breath on him. He was taken by surprise by the layer of ice that immobilized him. She didn't waste any time and dashed to his frozen form, punching it as hard as she could and sending it flying.

The girl then sighed, and held her arm which had been injured in the fight. This was Blossom Utonium, the leader of the super powered trio known as the Power Puff Girls that have been protecting Townsville for eight years. She was 13 now. She had a more human-looking body than when she was created: she had fingers, toes and a nose; her head was not as big, though her eyes were still unusually large. The Professor had said that the elements which had created her and her sisters were adapting to the world they were exposed to and that was why their bodies had changed. She wore a pair of baby blue jeans and a pink tank top with Jerry's face on it (from "Tom and Jerry"). Her long, red hair was a bit ruffed from the fight and she reached to adjust the red bow that was binding it in a loose ponytail. She looked at the place where her opponent had landed and frowned when she saw him already getting up.

The boy was none other than Brick, the leader of the Rowdy Ruff Boys. The boys had always proved to be a nasty challenge for the girls. Sometimes they won and sometimes they lost, but they always gave the Puffs a run for their money. The same changes that had occurred into the girls' appearance had happened to the boys as well. They had been a little alarmed when they had woken up one day to find that they had grown noses, but they got over it after Mojo had explained what was happening to them. Brick got out of the hole he had made in the ground when he landed. He didn't bother to dust his black pants or his plain, dark red T-shirt, but he took a moment to adjust his signature red cap over his mop of red hair, which was now a lot shorter than it had been when HIM brought him back. He growled at the girl who had hit him. Crouching a little he readied himself for another attack.

Upon seeing him charge for her, Blossom immediately took off into the air. She had no intention of damaging the town any further with a fight.

"You can run, but you can't hide, ya' sissy!" she heard him shouting from behind. She grunted and flew higher.

"Just wait you little nimrod! You'll be the one running when I'm done with you!" She furrowed her brows in concentration and accelerated, all the while preparing for a strong energy attack. Brick, however, had noticed the energy building up around her body.

"So ya' wanna' play it tough, pinky? Let's see just how tough you really are!" he hissed, a smirk forming on his lips while he prepared his own attack.

All of a sudden, Blossom turned around and charged for him, a big ball of electricity in her hands. But the boy was ready to counterattack. When they were only a few feet apart, Blossom threw her electric ball at him, while he shot an energy ray at her. Their attacks collided and violently exploded. The force of the explosion was so great that both of them were sent flying directly into the woods.

Blossom slowly opened her eyes and rolled over, lifting herself into a sitting position. She grunted and rubbed her head, which was throbbing. She looked around and felt a small shiver run down her spine as her eyes landed on the many signs that said: "Stay out!", "Get lost!" or "Fuzzy's Property!"

"Just great!" she thought. "Of all the places to forcefully land in, I had to land on Fuzzy Lumpkinz's territory!" she sighed, but her heart stopped when she heard a cough. She turned around and saw her counterpart on the ground, not far away. He seemed to have a coughing fit. He was clutching his chest with one hand and had his eyes opened wide. His other hand was searching for something in his pocket. He took out a small bottle of pills and took one. The coughing didn't immediately stop, but he seemed to calm down after a few minutes. When he noticed her he quickly rose to his feet and got into attack position, even though his chest still felt very uncomfortable. He was the leader of the Rowdy Ruff Boys and he wasn't going to lose a fight with a Power Puff just because of some nasty cold.

But Blossom, who was on her feet now, wasn't looking at him. She had heard a rustling sound nearby and was now trying to figure out what had made it. Brick, obviously hadn't noticed it, as he dashed for his pink eyed opponent. But just as she saw him coming for her and tried to move out of the way, he heard a loud growl behind him. Just as he stared to turn around, to see what had made that sound, something hit him in the shoulder and he screamed, feeling a burning sensation where he had been hit. As he fell, he saw a large creature, covered with pink fur and holding a big, old fashioned hunting gun. "Lumpkinz" he thought, as he clutched his shoulder.

Blossom wasn't sure which sight was scarier: Fuzzy with his shotgun pointed at her, or Brick on the ground, his shoulder bleeding. No one really knew how, but Fuzzy had managed to make a kind of bullets that could actually harm Chemical X beings, just like a normal bullet would harm a regular person. Despite this making him more dangerous than ever, Blossom was grateful for his solitary nature and his big ego, which kept him on "his property" along with his very harmful bullets (none of the villains that had tried to buy or steal the secret was ever successful).

But now she was on his territory and he wasn't very happy. Not to mention the fact that her counterpart was bleeding on the ground because of him. Even though she didn't like to admit it, her heart had stopped the moment she had seen Brick fall to the ground wounded and she was now very worried for him.

"GET. OFF. MY PROPERTY!!!!" Fuzzy yelled, shooting his gun a few times. Fortunately, the girl managed to dodge every one of the bullets.

Without even thinking, she flew towards the boy who was now in a sitting position, supporting himself with one arm and clutching his wound with the other. She picked him up and flew into the air. She was planning to fly back to Townsville as fast as she could, but the hot liquid that was still pouring out of the boy's wound made her change her mind. He'd bleed out long before she'd be able to reach town. A small part of her mind told her to leave him there: "This is jour big chance to get rid of him! He won't be able to terrorize the town any longer!" However, his grunt of pain touched her heart and made her chase away those thoughts. She couldn't let him die!

"What the heck do you think you're doing?!" he spoke in what he had intended to be a threatening and annoyed tone, but it came out as a strangled whisper. He bit his tongue and cursed himself. He hated to sound so weak. It had happened several times lately, when he had those coughing fits. His chest would feel really tight and he'd have trouble breathing. Mojo had given him some cough medicine to take, but they didn't really work.

"What does it look like I'm doing, wise guy? I'm saving your life!" the girl answered, in a half annoyed half worried tone.

"Why in the world would she be worried?" he asked himself. "Maybe that pink oaf's chasing us…" he concluded, after thinking a little. He couldn't really hear anything that might indicate the fact that they were being chased, but he decided that it wasn't really surprising as the pulsating pain had his full attention. He cursed himself once again for not noticing Fuzzy in the woods and for getting shot by him.

Meanwhile, Blossom was thinking hard, trying to figure out what to do about Brick's wound. She had positioned him so his hurt shoulder would be against her body, to slow down the bleeding. She could've just wrapped something around the wound, but she first had to take the bullet out. She knew, from experience, that it wasn't a really good idea to leave one of Fuzzy's bullets inside the body for long.

"Wait! Fuzzy's cabin! If we move fast enough, we might make it before he gets back!" she thought. Now she had a plan. "Hang in there Brick!" she whispered to her counterpart and was a little surprised to notice that there was nothing mocking in her voice. The boy noticed this as well, but was too dizzy from the blood loss to give it too much thought.

Blossom reached Fuzzy's wooden cabin and flew in, taking a bucket of water with her. Inside she laid Brick on the floor. He slightly grunted when he changed position and she winched at the sound. She didn't like to hear him in pain. Funny, since she was the one that only a few minutes ago was trying to cause him pain. She found a clean sheet and ripped it in two. She used one half to wash his wound. He was silent while she did so, but she noticed his knitted brows and twisted lips. He was in pain. And the worst was yet to come.

She found a small pair of tongs in a box. As she approached Brick, she used her laser vision to warm it up. She noticed that he had a dazed look in his eyes so she decided to hurry up.

"Hey Brick!" she spoke in a soft tone. He turned to look at her. His eyes slightly widened when he saw what she was carrying. "I have to take the bullet out of your shoulder." She explained. "It's going to hurt" she said, an apologetic look in her eyes. The boy was still worried, but he nodded his head. However, in the process, a small cloud a dust was lifted from the floor and his chest felt tight once again. He began coughing.

Blossom gasped at this and rushed to his side. She helped him up and patted his back, almost instinctively. She noticed that he was trying to reach for his pocket. She remembered the bottle of pills he had and she got it out for him. She took out a pill and gave it to him. He tried to swallow it, but it got stuck in his throat and he started coughing even harder. The girl felt her heart skipping a few beats, but she forced herself to remain calm. She put the tongs down, on the floor and grabbed him from behind, her arms tightly circled around his torso. She began to pull, as he struggled to breathe. After a few seconds, that felt like hours to the Reds, he spit the pill out. He was still coughing, though it was less violent. Only then did she realize how fast her heart was beating and she had to admit that she was very worried for the boy in her arms. She placed her head on his back, without releasing him from her grip. She closed her eyes, waiting for him to calm down. But something was off. She noticed a strange sound coming from him; one that shouldn't have been there. Like the whistling sound that the wind made when it passed through a narrow passage. She furrowed her brows. "This isn't right" she thought. But as she felt the warm, red liquid run down her arm she remembered that there were more urgent matters to take care of.

Brick had stopped coughing and was now only breathing hard. Blossom gently laid him down and looked at him. She wasn't very sure if he could see her. She touched his face and whispered his name. He turned his eyes towards her.

"I'm going to take that bullet out now…" she said and he nodded. She found a piece of wood that was as thick as a thumb. "Here" she gave it to him. "Bite down on this. It's going to hurt really bad"

He nodded and bit the wood. She, then, took the tongs, which were still hot, and used them to get the bullet out of his shoulder. He, almost immediately, started to scream, but because of the wood in his mouth, it was muffled. However, she still felt her heart squirm at the sound. He felt him grab her waist with much force, but she did her best to take the bullet out as quickly and painlessly as possible.

After she was done with the bullet, she took the wet cloth and wiped his wound again. He still had his arm around her waist and even if the situation was pretty serious, she had to admit that it felt rather comfortable. "Wait! What did I just think?" she thought to herself. "I must be going insane!" she thought and bit her lip when he saw his still pained expression. He had spit out the wood and was now breathing heavily.

"Don't worry! Everything will be alright. You'll be fine." She gently spoke to him. She wasn't sure why she had said that… he was, after all, her arch nemesis and had tried to destroy her hundreds of times. But he just couldn't help herself as she looked at his vulnerable form, stained with his own blood, his arm still holding her, as if he was reaching for help.

Brick, meanwhile, was trying hard not to gasp in pain. His whole upper side felt like it was burning. From his lungs to his throat and his shoulder, everything seemed to be on fire and he and a hard time breathing. His vision was blurred, but he could still see his counterpart hovering above him. He knew that he was still holding her, but at that particular moment he felt that she's just leave him there if he wouldn't be hanging on to her. And as much as he hated to admit it, he'd be dead without her help. "Damn it!" he cursed. He had been hurt before, but when Mojo treated him he never felt like he owed him. But this was different. The Pink Puff could've just left him lying on the ground to face Fuzzy alone and wounded, and so get rid of him. But no, she took him with her and was now trying to save his life. "Heroes…" he thought. "They don't make any sense." But he couldn't have been more thankful for that.

After she finished cleaning Brick's wound, Blossom took the other half of the sheet she had ripped and carefully wrapped around his shoulder. When she was done, she helped him up.

"How do you feel?" she asked, concern visible in her voice.

"A lil' better" he whispered. She smiled at this, but he couldn't see her.

Suddenly, they heard something. Their eyes widened as they realized they were footsteps and that meant one thing: Fuzzy was coming back. Before either of them could do anything the door opened to reveal the big, furry creature with his shotgun ready.

"GET OFF MY PROPERTY!!!!" he yelled and fired. Luckily, Blossom was quick enough to get both of them out of the way. But she couldn't fight and protect Brick at the same time. She looked around and spotted the object that would help them escape.

Without wasting a second, she zoomed to a corner of the room and grabbed Fuzzy's most prized possession: his banjo (**A/N:** That's what it's called, right?)

"NOO! JOE!" he screamed, his fur gaining a red color. "GIVE HIM BACK!!" he yelled, pointing his gun at them.

"You want it back?" Blossom spoke, trying to seem as calm as possible. Fuzzy was staring at her, half mad, half terrified. "Then go after it!" she screamed throwing it out the window. Fuzzy didn't even spare them a second look. He took off after his instrument yelling: "JOOOOOEEE! I'm coming baby! Daddy's coming!"

Blossom took a second to feel disturbed by this unusual display of affection towards an object and then took off, still supporting Brick, who had already begun to heal (Chemical X does wonders for their bodies).

When they were out of Fuzzy's territory, Blossom decided that they should walk, not because carrying him was a tiring task (though she couldn't deny that it was), but because it felt rather awkward to support her enemy. They started to walk towards Townsville.

She tried to meet his eyes several times, but it was like he was avoiding her. "I guess I'm not the only one feeling weird…" she thought. She looked down and sighed. She wasn't even sure if it had been an hour since they had been fighting in town and now look at the! They were silently walking through the forest as if it was something absolutely normal. She gazed at him once in a while to make sure that he could handle himself properly. She knew that the Chemical X in his system was already helping him heal, but she couldn't help but worry. She remembered how vulnerable he looked back in Fuzzy's cabin, when he was practically coughing his lungs out. She had been so scared for him then. But she could still recall he sensation she had after he had calmed down, when she had held him close. It felt good to be close to him. She smiled and blushed.

Without realizing, the girl moved a little closer to her counterpart and their hands accidentally brushed. She startled and pulled her hand back, but not before she felt him stiffen. She was as red as the ribbon that was binding her hair. She didn't dare look at him. But if she would have done that she would have seen that his cheeks wee just as red.

He felt his heart beating fast, but it was not like when he was coughing and had trouble breathing. This felt good, if not a little awkward. He could feel his cheeks burning and he squeezed his eyes shut as he tried hard to fight back the blush.

But as he did so, he couldn't see where he was walking. He tripped and fell on the ground, stirring a cloud of dust, which he inhaled. His eyes widened as he felt that uncomfortable sensation in his chest. He looked around and saw Blossom at his side. She must've rushed there when he had fallen. He opened his mouth but he discovered that he was unable to talk. He tried to breathe in, but again, he couldn't.

He felt himself being overcome by panic. He tried to breathe in but no air reached his lungs. He tried again, harder, but with the same result. He was vaguely aware of the fact that his counterpart was right next to him, holding him and calling his name. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. His chest was on fire and his throat felt like it was collapsing on itself. He opened his mouth, trying, again, to breathe in, but nothing reached his lungs.

Next to him, Blossom was almost desperate. It was happening again and now she was sure it was no cold doing this. She called his name, praying that he'd stop the next minute and tell her it had been just one of his pranks. But it looked like that wasn't going to happen any time soon. The boy in her arms was suffocating and she had no idea what to do about it. Her mind was foggy and she felt tears stinging her eyes. The Red Ruff let out a strangled gasp while trying to breathe and the girl felt her heart ripping apart at that sound.

"No! Stop it, Blossom!" she scolded herself "You'll only make matters worse by panicking! THINK!" she yelled at herself.

She looked at the boy in her arms. His lips had gained a grayish color. Her eyes widened as she remembered the anatomy classes she took. Her free hand immediately went to his neck and she noticed that the muscles were unusually tight. She noted this in her mind and then checked his torso. The skin around the ribs was slightly sucked in. One word went through her mind: "Asthma".

She remembered the whistle sound that she had heard back in Fuzzy's cabin. It all made sense. She gripped the Ruff's and closed her eyes.

"Asthma… Asthma… What do you do in case of asthma attack? I'm guessing he doesn't have an inhaler…"

She pulled him up, straightening him. He let out a small whimper, but she didn't return him to his previous position.

"It will be easier for you to breathe if you're sitting up: she told him as he struggled to get some air into his lungs. It seemed to work a little better now, when he wasn't lying down.

"But this won't do any good if I can't find something to lessen the pressure on your throat…" she thought. "Heat can make the muscles relax!" she whispered. She quickly looked around, trying to find something she could use. She saw a small pond nearby. "Steam!" she thought.

"Everything will be OK, Brick. Don't worry!" She whispered in his ear as she carefully lifted him, making sure that at least his upper body had a straight position. She reached the pond and fired her laser beams into the water. It started to boil soon and stream started rising.

She continued to whisper reassuring words into the Ruff's ear, like a mantra. He was still holding her tightly, but now he started to feel air reaching his lungs more easily. The girl felt him relax a bit. But she knew that the steam would only make it a bit easier for him to breathe, not solve the problem. He needed medicine to get over the crisis. But the town was still a few miles away and she wasn't sure if she could bring him back safely, especially if the attack returned full force. She needed something to keep it at bay.

Blossom looked at her counterpart. He was still breathing heavily, but he seemed much better now. Then she got an idea.

"Brick!" she spoke. A short gasp told her that he was listening. "Look, you're having an asthma attack. I have to take you to the hospital if you want to pull through. But you'll have to help me too." He nodded, showing her that he was ready. "I need a way to keep your throat muscles relaxed so you'll be able to breathe in" he nodded, understanding. "Do you think you could use your fire breath to keep your system warm? Not much, just a little bit, so it'll be warm."

"I *gasp* I'll try *gasp*" he said. He breathed in a few times and exhaled. A small flame escaped his lips.

"Not that much!" she told him, stroking his cheek. "Just a little bit."

He tried again. This time there was not fire, but she could feel his body getting warmer. "That's OK, keep it up" she whispered. "I'll take you to the hospital! You'll be OK! Don't worry! Everything will be fine!" she told him, as she flew towards Townsville. She kept whispering such things all the way to town.

She reached the city's hospital and kicked the doors open. She ignored the shocked stares she got and went straight to one of the doctors she knew, Dr. Debra Winters. She didn't give the woman time to open her mouth.

"Help him!" the girl said, her voice sounding more like a plea. The doctor blinked at her a few times and then seemed to wake up from a daze.

"Come on!" she said, leading Blossom to one of the rooms. "Put him on the bed! I'll take care of him!" the adult spoke. The Pink Puff did as she was told, but she refused to leave the room while the woman worked.

After half an hour of being extremely tense, the red head relaxed as the doctor told her that everything would be OK. "Oh, thank god!" the 13 year old gasped as she dashed to the bed.

"He'll need to rest for a while…" the woman began.

"I'll be right out! Just a few moments!" the girls spoke, looking at the doctor.

"OK, but don't be long." She told the little girl and she nodded. Satisfied, the woman went out the door. The Pink Puff turned to her counterpart. He looked really tired.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Better…" he said. "Tired…" he added.

The girl smiled. She placed her hand on his and held it tight. She felt him gripping her back. She looked at his eyes, but he wasn't looking at her. He was staring into space. She bit her lip and stroked his hand with her thumb. There was silence for a few moments.

"Thanks…" he suddenly said.

She blinked a few times. He was still not looking at her.

"You're welcome!" she whispered.

"Am I?" he spoke. The girl was surprised by his comment.

"Why did you help me?" he asked again, this time turning to look at her. He had a cold look in his eyes. She was a little hurt by this.

"What do you mean?" she said.

"I mean: Why did you help me? I'm a villain. I'm your enemy. Ever since the day I was created I tried to destroy you and your sisters. Up until now you always fought me and you tried to destroy me, don't deny it!" he added the last part when he saw her open her mouth to protest.

She was silent. She looked down, trying to find an answer. He waited for her response. After a few minutes she sighed and he thought that he'd get an answer. But the look that she gave him was an apologetic one.

"I'm not sure, Brick" she began and he was surprised to find how nice his name sounded out of her mouth. "I… didn't even think before I picked you up after Fuzzy shot you. It was… instinct, I think…"

"Oh…" he said, but he didn't have the time to say anything else, because she spoke again.

"And I just couldn't leave you there. I… I don't know… I panicked."

"Why?" he asked.

"I… I'm not sure… I guess it was the idea of you dying…" she whispered.

"But you've always tried to kill me." He stated.

"No!" she said, her tone a little too high pitched. He stared at her. She stared back, but while he had a quizzical look in his eyes, she looked hurt.

"I… I never wanted you to die…" she whispered. He looked at her, confused. Yet his eyes were a little bit softer than earlier.

"I just wanted you to stop… I'm a superhero; I'm the protector of this town. I'll fight anyone who wants to harm my home. But I don't want anyone to die." Her voice was cracking.

He stared at her for a few minutes. Then, he nodded.

"I… understand." He spoke. She looked into his eyes. "But that doesn't mean I'll stop." He continued.

"Maybe you will…" she said.

"How do you know?" he asked her, raising a brow.

"I don't. I just hope." She explained.

"Why?" he asked again.

"Because it's all I can do. I can't change the way you think. I'll fight you when you do wrong and I'll hope that you'll stop doing it." She spoke, in a soft voice.

"But what if I'm the one who's right?" he asked. She smiled at him and bent down. His eyes widened as her face was only a few inches away from his.

"You're not." She whispered. Then she kissed his forehead. He was shocked and opened his mouth to say something, but she had already left his side and was now at the door.

He looked at her as she turned around and smiled at him. Then she left the room, closing the door behind her.

He closed his eyes and sighed. "You're not." He recalled her words. He sighed again.

"You're not."

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Done!

I know it wasn't too romantic, but hey, I don't really like fluffy stories anymore.

I hope you liked it!

Thanks for reading!


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